A seagull's death

After lunch on the Monday after the New Year, I was driving to go for a walk when I saw a seagull lying near the side of the street. Its wings were both in a spreading position, yet it appeared not moving at all.

I was looking forward to a good walk in the nature, but I just could not leave it on the road whether it is dead or half dead.

Having parkd the car a few yards further down, I started to think very hard about what things I would use to pick up and transport the bird. I happened to have a bag of grocery from Whole Food. I quickly took out the few items and decided to use the bag.

I walked toward the bird to see what shape it was in. What a magnificent bird--large, snow white feather, web feet..except now it is lifeless, both wings half stretching out in the air, feather mingled. There was a little blood underneath the body, still wet. Apparently whatever accident happened, it happened just minutes earlier.

My heart sank at such a sight and the thought of a violent event just minutes ago. A little food was scattered next to it. There were still some on the beak of the bird. What is most disturbing is seeing the tire mark on the belly of the bird, gray mark on the snow white feather. It was sickening...

I used tissue paper to pick up the bird and moved it to the sidewalk. I called a few animal hospitals to see if they are open on this Money holidy. Finally I decided that I needed to drive the bird to Angell Hospital in Jamaica Plain.

The bird was in the bag riding with me in the car. I felt humbled to be carrying a wild creature in my car. Although it looked 99% dead, I just couldn't let it to be on the street. It needs to go to a safe place, dead or alive.

I cried for a while in the car, sadden by the fact that some drivers can just run their cars over a living creature.

What is the meaning of such a mismatching phenomenon--a creature trying to sustain its survival by salvaging the food on the street, and a human being carelessly running it over.

I arrived at the animal hospital to show them the bird. They brought it into a room. After a few minutes, they told me it was dead.

I told myself, there is food chain in this world, animals live by eating other animals. Life is as magnificent as its beautiful and energetic form. Life also can be as meager as a bite of food for others, or in this case, a meaningless existence that belongs to under the wheel, according to some drivers

Maybe the bird doesn't even know this ugly truth. He left the world before he even learned this ugliness.

Willingness to Let the Truth Be

Anxious? Nervous? Dreading? Stressed? Afraid?

Coming to the end of a long weekend or vacation, where is this heading year after year, things don't seem to go as well as we want to, feeling trapped......

This is all because we are not staying with our truth.

If we are with the truth, there would be no doubt, suffering, anxiety, dread, fear, frustration...There will be no questions.

With truth, there is only willingness,trust, courage, compassion, openness, to face whatever is coming.

Willingness to face whatever is coming. Willingness to go through it. Trust that you will know what to do. You will then be able to focus and enjoy this here and now

Knowing that there are others who are in even worse desperation

Be compassionate about this moment like we would to a person or a living being. Do not ignore this moment.

Stay with the truth. Do not make things up. Do not bother with imaginations. We can only be with the truth, whatever is in front of us.

Be humble. Be small. Be like my cat--alive all his life with only a few people know his existence, yet he is totally magnificent.

What if there is no me? What if I don't do anything? What if I just observe the world go by?

What if I just let the truth be......